That's meaningless. They only passed it before because they knew it wouldn't become law. They'd never have to suffer the consequences of an outraged populace.
I agree with the second sentence, completely. And in a sense, that's another way of saying the prior votes were "meaningless" or "hollow." But those votes were also a follow through on a "promise" that we now see was hollow too. As for whether or not the politicians will see consequences, I'm sure they hope that is true. The trick is to get your piece of the action before the whole house of cards collapses.